Discoveries: India and the Mughal Dynasty

By Valérie Bérinstain

Book Overview

Fabulously wealthy and powerful, the Mughal emperors of India commissioned peerless paintings and architecture, ruled over courts renowned for culture and refinement, and possessed incomparable jewels. This text explores the Mughal dynasty from its rise through to its decline.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810928566
• ISBN13: 9780810928565
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

a perfect little intro

This book provided everything I hoped it would: 1) A brief outline of the major events and major figures in Mughal history - 2)Some anecdotal material - 3)maps, pictures, diagrams, etc.It also had some bonuses, like a suggested list for further reading, some translations of texts and letters from people from the time period. The Babur-nama undoubtedly provided the most entertaining texts.This certainly isn't the be all end all of Mughal history, but that's not what this book is attempting to be. It provides a concise, brief picture of the dynasty and provides the perfect springboard to go deeper into the subject. I finished the book in one sitting in a few hours and that was with really looking at the paintings, diagrams and pictures. All in all, this is a brilliant little intro to a fascinating subject. It certainly has made me want to read further.

A lovely introduction

I love the Discoveries Series. An intelligent text is interwoven with beautiful illustrations and pictures. Each illustration comes with text that is pregnant with information. In fact, the text and the illustrations can be read as parallel texts. This one on the Mughal empire is an absolute delight - even though the final days of the Mughals India are treated only very briefly. It's the sort of text that children and adults can learn a lot from. Beautiful and Magic.

An excellent historical reader -

I have read lots of background essays on the influence of the Mughals in India - but Ms. Berinstein's is the best as it links the influence of the Samarkand society on an attempt by later Mughal leaders to integrate into Indian society - if you want a good reader and on the way to India - this is a must read - it is a jumping off point to read more about the Mughals individually, the Sikhs, the Rajputs and the impact of British power on a declining culture. A quality paperback (small in size but packs a wallop) with excellent pictoral displays. Jay Pineda, Ph.D (History and Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara)

Nice "handbook" overviewing the Mughal Empire.

This is a small, but nice book that gives only an overview of the Mughal Empire. It is full of colored pictures mixed in with the text, and lots of info sidebars. While it made for an enjoyable read, if you need something more on the academic side, with heavy detail, this is not the book you are looking for.